When you inevitably click over to the NCAA tournament next month, and you know you will, you could see a familiar face staring back at you. While it remains to be seen if either of Oakland University’s basketball programs qualify for the Big Dance, the Golden Grizzlies insignia will adorn the baselines of The Palace of Auburn Hills during the second and third rounds of the men’s tournament once again, March 21-23.

Oakland played host to numerous upsets in 2006 and secured a joint bid with The Palace to entertain this season.

“We can host other tournaments, but nothing will compare to this from an organizational standpoint and the time and energy we put into it,” Oakland director of athletics Tracy Huth said.

This year marks the tournament’s return to Michigan after the University of Detroit hosted the 2009 Final Four at Ford Field in Detroit. Tickets range from $135 to $225 and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com. Representatives from The Palace declined to get specific about ticket sales but said in a statement:

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“We are not going to publicly release sales numbers at this point, but sales for the event have been robust and are on pace with previous NCAA tournament events that we have hosted. We expect continued growth as the tournament brackets are announced.”

Huth, who served as tournament manager seven years ago, learned to pace himself.

What will be noticeably different from the last installment is the appearance of the Palace court. After an oversized cursive “Oakland University” graced center court at The Palace, the NCAA instituted the so-called “Oakland rule,” scrubbing the playing surface of any individuality by regulating its appearance at various sites.

Oakland men’s basketball coach Greg Kampe, who served as the school’s athletic director in 2006, slyly admitted he might have had a “little bit” of involvement in the brainstorming that led to the attention-grabbing center court design, is taking a hands-off approach this time around.

“I had nothing to do with it this time,” he said. “I just hope I’m not there. I hope that they run a heck of a tournament but Oakland is playing somewhere else.”

“I’m the basketball coach. That’s all I am now.”

The recognition that came from the 2006 court, along with subsequent visits to the tournament by the school’s basketball teams, has helped bring the Rochester-area school into public consciousness, Huth said.

“It will be more recognizable when people hear Oakland is the host as opposed to seeing a big ‘Oakland University’ across the floor and everybody asking the question ‘Where’s Oakland,’ he said. “I think Oakland is much more recognizable as a brand. We look at this as exposing and strengthening our brand.”

The modern, stripped down courts come in from Connor Sports Flooring, which counts tiny Amasa, in the Upper Peninsula among its branches. The company has provided flooring for recent final fours as well as the inaugural Carrier Classic. Oakland’s court won’t be pieced together until two days before the event. The Palace will be hosting Disney On Ice while the NCAA tournament field is being decide and a Pistons game while fans fill out their office pool brackets the day after Selection Sunday.

While the court is being installed, it’s possible some of Auburn Hills’ incoming teams could be determined in the First Four, the tournament’s first round, held in Dayton, Ohio.

“We may not even know who’s coming here until the day before,” Oakland assistant athletic director for facilities and operations Elisabeth Putnam said. “That makes things a little hairy sometimes, but you plan and you prepare and then you just go with it.”

While Oakland is prohibited from playing at the Palace because of NCAA rules, it has been speculated that either Michigan or Michigan State — or both — could possibly begin their runs at the national championship in nearby Auburn Hills. Huth said such a scenario could create manageable chaos, but welcomed the madness.

“It would be great because you know it would sell out based on either one of them being here,” he said. “You could have them playing in separate pods on the same day. You could be playing to a full house in the second round. It would be a great thing for (everyone involved).”

Palace personnel will handle the customer service, such as ticket-taking and parking. Also, the NCAA will reimburse Oakland for the costs incurred by hosting, Huth said, noting a positive performance review by college sports’ governing body could add to the school’s coffers.

Oakland received nearly $300,000 for hosting in 2006, Huth said, which was added to the budget of the school’s athletic department. He said the NCAA determines an honorarium system of payouts for host institutions after grading each site’s performance.

Kampe said he wasn’t able to experience the fruits of the labor of he and his staff in 2006 because he opted to travel with the school’s women’s basketball team after they qualified for the women’s NCAA tournament. Huth could face a similar predicament this year, he said, noting he too would travel with the school’s basketball team in that scenario.

Huth and Putnam have each shadowed other tournament hosts in Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio, for a chance to glean invaluable experience for their own duties.

“People can see our tradition and the direction we’re heading,” she said of the NCAA’s faith in Oakland to again host the tournament.

Putnam said Oakland has enlisted some 75 volunteers in addition to much of Oakland’s athletic department to help coordinate the event, which comes down to things as simple as color coordinating sidelines seats and chairs.

“We don’t want to make it an Oakland event,” she said. “We’re hosting for the NCAA.”

Oakland’s joint bid with the Palace was accepted in 2009 and site visits began last summer.

Putnam and others from Oakland meet regularly with Palace personnel to ensure the event’s success. Huth said Oakland already has submitted a bid to host another future tournament.

The Palace, which has a seating capacity of more than 22,000, will be slightly smaller than the arrangement for Pistons games, Huth said, but will have more space available than in 2006, when the Palace was undergoing a renovation on the north side of the venue.

With or without a home state team in the field, there’s a strong likelihood something notable will happen during March Madness.

The Palace played host to memorable opening-round games in 2006. No. 4 seed Kansas was upset by No. 13 Bradley, which went on to then upset No. 5 seed Pittsburgh and later advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.

Also, No. 14 Northwestern State knocked off No. 3 Iowa in the opening-round, a knocking rated by TIME Magazine as one of the 10 biggest opening-round upsets of all time.

Flood, who has been at the Palace for 20 years, rates the NCAA tournament with the Pistons’ 2004 NBA championship as the most exciting event to visit the arena.

“It brings an exciting atmosphere,” she said. “College basketball is a little different than the NBA. From start to finish, there’s excitement in the air.”

Putnam mentioned the possibility of a video presentation honoring Michigan teams who have participated in the tournament to mark the event’s 75th anniversary. The Oakland men have qualified for the tournament three times, last visiting in 2011, and have won one game in tournament play.

Oakland prospered from the exposure in 2006 and another stint as host to one of sports’ most significant events can’t hurt the sprawling school from Rochester. Participating in the event helps, too.

“People took notice we were here to stay,” Huth said.

Paul Kampe covers Oakland University basketball for The Oakland Press. Email him at paul.kampe@oakpress.com and read his blog “Grizzlies Den” at TheOaklandPress.com/blogs/sports.

Differences in the NCAA tournament since 2006:

— The most significant change to the tournament itself is the addition of three teams to the field when the NCAA created the “First Four,” a play on the existing “Final Four” conclusion to the tournament, in 2011. The field now consists of 68 teams and begins play March 19 in Dayton, Ohio.

— The courts are the most obvious change to the tournament. The NCAA has stripped venues and host schools of any hint of a local connection. Around these parts, this is known as “The Oakland rule,” after the Rochester school got hip to the marketing opportunity at its disposal in 2006. A large cursive “Oakland University,” without any of the traditional Oakland logos, ran from center court to near the 3-point arc.

— TV coverage: Turner Sports has vastly expanded its coverage on television and the web. Utilizing the various cable networks at its disposal, Turner turned TruTV and other forgotten cable channels into March Madness mavens, soaking up the ratings boost as well.

Last season, Turner and CBS, which broadcasts tournament game exclusively once the field is narrowed to just eight teams, jointly launched an online companion platform for last season’s tournament which featured coverage of each of the tournament’s opening-round games.

This season, the NCAA has created a YouTube channel where users can watch highlights, for free, of recent March Madness games, including those played at The Palace in 2006.

— Social media: In its infancy as “Web 2.0” in 2006, it will likely play a big role in the user experience for CBS and Turner, not to mention alter the way many fans digest the tournament from their couches or bar stools.

— Rise of the mid-majors: George Mason in 2006 became the first so-called “mid-major” to make the Final Four since Pennsylvania in 1979. With increasing parity in college basketball, schools from lesser-known conferences, such as Butler in 2010 and 2011, have become a more frequent occurrence in the tournament’s crown jewel.

Oakland University competes in the Summit League, a conference, which like other mid-majors, typically only receives one bid to the tournament field. Men’s basketball coach Greg Kampe attributes the ascension of small conference schools in part to the NCAA’s acceptance of “one-and-dones,” players who depart for the NBA after just one season in college, which has created a more level playing field.

Tickets for second- and third-round NCAA tournament games at The Palace can be purchased at www.ncaa.com/mbbtickets, all Ticketmaster outlets and TicketMaster.com, The Palace Ticket Store inside the West Atrium or by calling 248-377-0152.